Homeloaded Shotgun Cartridges

[webley701]

Because there is a cost to these tasks ! also the disposal of them RFDs need paying for thier time and costs . Its easy to cut shotshell cases at the rear and remove the wad and shot the powder can be simply burned , the only issue is the primer but those could be popped in the gun .

There’s no “task”.

Are you expecting something to happen other than the cartridges being dropped in a box with all the other unwanted odd cartridges a gun-shop accumulates, to be eventually given to someone who’s got the time & interest to salvage the shot - or forgotten about entirely?

Personally I’d just cut them up & pop the primer but the OP seemed reluctant to do that hence he floated the RFD or Police options, the latter of which I’d suggest is unwise.

 

[Heym SR20]

Police will take in guns and ammo is surrendered from a SC or FAC holder. They are not in the hands of criminals, no crime has been committed so they really should not be added to any statistics.

 

[VSS]

Just updating everyone, I'm likely to hand these into an RFD or police soon. Thanks for all the advice.

I took some random old shotgun cartridges into a police station once, in the hope that they'd take them off my hands for disposal. They just shooed me out pronto and told me to go and bury them in the corner of a field somewhere.

 

[Longstrider]

A very dear friend of mine used to work at a large local clay ground, he was a lifelong shooter and a qualified and respected coach. On occasion a 'random stranger' would appear in the shop with a load of cartridges and say something like "Grandad died and we found these in his cupboard. Can you take them off us please because none of the family has, or knows about, guns".

My mate would always take them in for 'safe keeping'. He'd sort through them and use what could be used for pigeoning and the like.
He did once have someone turn up and 'deposit' over 3000 16 bore cartridges, still in boxes and slabs ! He bought a 16 bore ... used them all, then sold the gun on again.

Sitting with him in a pigeon hide one day he (as usual) had a big bag of 'Grandad Cartridges' to use up. As a bird came in he claimed it as his, mounted the gun and swung through .... BOOM ! End result was him on his ar$e in the back of the hide, a huge cloud of smoke in front of the hide, and no sign whatsoever of the pigeon (did he miss it or atomise it ??)
Once I had recovered from the shock wave (and stopped laughing) I pointed out (but with different words) that I thought it might be a good idea if he refrained from using any more of those whilst in my company. The gun survived, thank goodness, but I reckon it must have been a close-run thing.

If you don't know what the cartridge is ... DON'T fire it !

 

[DesG]

It's no drama cutting up old cartridges. I helped a friend clear out her cwych (under stair cupboard) which was full of her late husband's shooting stuff. Loads of cartridges but the ones at the bottom were well covered in rat poo and wee. I left them out in the rain for a while then cut them up. Even the shot was almost dissolved!

The dead powder ended up on my veg patch and any case heads which were any good I reloaded with black powder and made blanks out of them for alarm mines and such like. They cost around a quid a piece to buy.